There are more than 4000 breweries in the United States of America, with more opening daily! This provides beer aficionados with a dizzying array of choices, which is both a blessing and a curse.  Due to the realities of limited regional distribution (including a slew of complex state and federal alcohol regulations) it is hard for the even the well informed citizen to keep track of which breweries are churning out the good stuff. Each of our diverse 50 states (and Washington D.C., because they brew bureaucratically lean beer) has its own unique style of beer due to geography, water, local ingredients, brewing traditions, and a host of other factors. Please select a state and learn about its best breweries*. If you have genuine American beer expertise, i.e. you like to drink good beer and possibly talk about it, please vote for your favorite brewery.
​The results of this poll will be combined with the previously collected data and 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places will be awarded to each state's winning breweries. This will help true beer connoisseurs find the Americas best beer. Results will be available online by the end of the year and a hard copy map of the results will be printed and available to the public. Cheers! 

---

---

What makes good beer?

Water

Good water is the key to good beer, because beer is mostly water. Certain beer styles lend themselves better to either harder or softer water, which is determined by the amount of dissolved minerals such as Calcium and Magnesium. In order to keep beer flavors consistent, many breweries treat their water through a variety of methods such as reverse osmosis or adding key minerals. 

Barley

Barley is a nice cereal grain, which makes beer taste like beer. Malted barley is sweet and can be roasted a little or a lot to make many styles of beer. Smash the roasted barley and mix it with hot water, and wort will appear which is the humble beginnings of beer.

Hops

Hops balance the sweet malty flavors and aromas with bitterness, and they also preserve the beer. There are many varieties of hops with differing flavors and aromas, try them all and remember your favorites.

Yeast

Yeast is quite the mysterious microorganism which transforms the sugars  to alcohol and carbon dioxide (carbonation or bubbles).  Fermentation - Boom! There are also many varieties of yeast and they impart differing flavors and aromas to beer.

More Stuff

There is plenty more that can be added to beer:
Other grains can be added: Wheat, Oats, Rye and the like can add distinct flavors and body. Boring grains such as rice and corn can cheaply increase the alcohol in the beer, but generally do not add much in the way of flavor or complexity. 
Fruit is common addition, as are spices, chocolate, vegetables, nuts, smoke flavor and the like.
Other additives can adjust the clarity or PH of the beer; these include Irish Moss and a variety of salts and minerals.